The blog of Councillor Ewan Aitken, Labour Member for ward 14, Craigentinny/Duddingston, City of Edinburgh Council

Where we are and where we will be

The idea of Edinburgh is a combination of place, soul and symbolic leadership of a nation

Saturday, 9 August 2008

Edinburgh, where peaceful protest is banned...

On the subject of protests, this is an extract from an e mail I was sent whilst I was away;

"Yesterday (August 6th) 13 of us braved a downpour to sing, give readings and contemplate Hiroshima (as we do every year).This year we decided to meet at Mound precinct. We were hassled by fringe staff (who appeared to be employees of a private security firm) for being in an area allocated to 'fringe festival' activity. We explained that our understanding was that it is a public gathering place, we were being careful not to form an obstruction and that it was a vigil for the dead of Hiroshima. They said that it was for performers only.We pointed out that there was not a performer in sight, the performances having been cancelled because the area was awash with rainwater.When we refused to move they called the police, who were much more reasonable in their approach: checking how long we intended to stay, what we intended to do etc."

That's right, this was not Beijing, this was Edinburgh. Be assured I will be asking serious questions of theSNP/Libdem administration about this unacceptable attitude as it is they who, in the end, have responsibility for this.

Surgery Times

All 7:15pm -7:45pmand the last Sat. Lochend YWCA, 198 Restalrig Road South12noon -1pm(no appointment needed, all during school terms)

Printed and Published by Ewan Aitken on behalf of the Edinburgh Labour Party, 78 Buccleuch Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9NH

Ewan Aitken

email Ewan at ewan.aitken@edinburgh.gov.uk

About Me

I was elected to the City of Edinburgh Council in 1999. After 7 years of being very heavily involved in Education, I was elected Council Leader in August 2006 and from May 2007 until June 2008 was Labour Group leader when I returned to the backbenches

I am ordained in the Church of Scotland but I don't have a parish. Instead I am the Secretary of the Church of Scotland's Church and Society Council.

I am an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Glasgow and an Honorary Fellow of Edinburgh University. I am married with two children, I am a member of the Iona Community and I enjoy sports though mostly as an armchair critic.

House Rules

I welcome strong opinions strongly expressed, but please don't use this blog if you intend to be abusive or intend to use offensive language. The public conversation that I want to encourage must be based on mutual respect and common courtesy.